Lint roller holder

ABSTRACT

A lint roller holder for use with a lint roller assembly having a handle and an adhesive roll rotatably mounted to the handle. A base is mounted to a vertically extending wall while a hook extends outwardly from the base and is dimensioned to extend through an aperture in the handle. The base includes an outwardly protruding portion beneath the hook so that, with the handle aperture positioned to the hook, the outwardly protruding base portion maintains the adhesive spaced away from the wall. Alternatively, the lint roller holder includes a tubular and cylindrical cup having a bottom and an open top dimension to receive the lint roller. A plurality of angularly spaced ribs are attached to the inside of the cup to prevent contact of the adhesive roll with the cup.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of U.S. provisional patent applicationSer. No. 60/553,630, filed Mar. 16, 2004, which is incorporated herewithin its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

I. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to lint roller holders of thetype used to remove detritus.

II. Description of Related Art

Lint roller assemblies are frequently used to remove detritus fromclothing, furniture, as well as other surfaces. These lint rollerassemblies typically comprise a handle having an adhesive roll rotatablymounted to the handle. The adhesive roll, in turn, includes a pluralityof overlapping and outwardly facing adhesive sheets. Once the adhesiveon the outermost sheet has become spent, the sheet is removed to exposethe underlying sheet with fresh adhesive.

Since the outwardly facing sheet of the adhesive roll is necessarilytacky, storage of the lint roller assembly while not in use becomesinconvenient, particularly when the adhesive roll touches and adheres toan unintended surface. Although many lint roller assemblies include anouter cover which is removably attached around the adhesive roll inorder to cover the outwardly facing adhesive surface, the use of thesecovers is somewhat cumbersome in practice.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention provides a lint roller holder which overcomes allof the above-mentioned disadvantages of the previously known devices.

In brief, the lint roller holder of the present invention is providedfor use with a lint roller assembly having a handle with an aperture andan adhesive roll rotatably mounted to the handle. The lint roller holderincludes a base which is adapted to be mounted to a vertically extendingwall in a conventional fashion, i.e. by a threaded fastener, an adhesivepad, or the like.

A hook extends outwardly from the base and this hook is dimensioned toextend through the handle aperture. The base also includes an outwardlyprotruding portion beneath the hook so that, with the hook positionedthrough the handle aperture, the outwardly protruding portion abutsagainst the lint roller handle and maintains the adhesive roll in aposition spaced away from, and thus not contacting, the wall.

In a second embodiment of the invention, the lint roller holder includesa tubular and cylindrical cup having a bottom and an open top dimensionto receive an adhesive roll mounted to the handle. A plurality ofangularly spaced and vertically extending ribs are attached to an insidesurface of the cup. These ribs prevent the adhesive roll from contactingthe inside of the cup, other than the ribs, and thus minimize the areaof contact between the adhesive roll and the lint roller holder.

The lint roller holder preferably includes a mounting plate attached tothe cup for attaching the lint roller holder to a vertically extendingwall. Optionally, the bottom of the cup may be supported by a horizontalsurface, such as a shelf or countertop.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

A better understanding of the present invention will be had uponreference to the following detailed description when read in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters referto like parts throughout the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view illustrating a first preferred embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view illustrating the first preferredembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a top view illustrating the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 4-4 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side view illustrating a second preferred embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 6 is an elevational view illustrating the second preferredembodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 7 is a side view illustrating the second preferred embodiment ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference first to FIGS. 1 and 2, a first preferred embodiment ofthe lint roller holder 10 of the present invention is shown. The lintroller holder 10 includes a generally tubular and cylindrical cup 12having a closed bottom 14. The cup 12 is dimensioned to receive anadhesive roll 16 which is rotatably mounted to a lint roller handle 18which together form the lint roller assembly.

With reference now particularly to FIGS. 1 and 3, a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced and vertically extending ribs 20 are attachedto and extend inwardly from the cup 12. Consequently, as best shown inFIG. 3, with the adhesive roll 16 positioned within the cup 12, one ormore of the ribs 20 contact the outer adhesive surface of the lint roll16 once inserted into the holder 10.

The ribs 20 thus prevent the outer adhesive surface of the adhesive roll16 from contacting the cup 12. Furthermore, the ribs 20 provide aminimal area of contact between the ribs 20 and the adhesive roll 16,thus minimizing any adhesion between the adhesive roll 16 and the holder10.

With reference now to FIGS. 1-3, a mounting plate 22 is attached to thecup 12, preferably adjacent its upper end. This mounting plate 22preferably includes one or more openings 24 for attaching the lintroller holder 10 to a vertical wall surface 26 (FIG. 3) by threadedfasteners 28 (FIG. 3).

With reference now to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, the cup 12 preferably comprisesa pair of bands 30 and 32 which extend outwardly from opposite sides ofthe mounting plate 22 at their upper ends 34 and 36, respectively. Thelower ends 38 and 40 of the bands 30 and 32, respectively, are in turnattached to the cup bottom 14. Preferably, the lower ends 38 and 40 ofthe bands 30 and 32 are circumferentially spaced from each other attheir attachment with the cup 12, thus forming a vertically extendingslot 42 along one side of the cup 12. This vertically extending slot 42facilitates both the insertion of the adhesive roll 16 into the holder10, as well as the removal of the adhesive roll 16 from the holder 10.

Preferably, the cup 12, bottom 14, ribs 20 and mounting plate 22 are ofa one-piece plastic construction.

With reference now to FIGS. 5-7, a second preferred embodiment of a lintroller holder assembly 50 is illustrated. The lint roller holder 50includes a base 52 having an upwardly extending hook 54 protrudingoutwardly from the base 52. The hook 54 includes a recessed portion 56extending from the base 52 and to a position short of a free end 58 ofthe hook 54. As best shown in FIG. 5, the recessed portion 56 of thehook 54 has a length substantially the same of an aperture 60 formedthrough the handle 18 of the lint roller assembly.

With reference now particularly to FIGS. 5 and 6, the base 50 includesan outwardly protruding portion 64 beneath the hook 54. Consequently,with the handle aperture 60 positioned over the hook 54 and nestedwithin the recessed portion 56 of the hook 54 as shown in FIG. 5, theoutwardly protruding portion 64 abuts against the handle 18 and tiltsthe lint roller assembly away from a vertical wall 66 on which the base50 is mounted, thus preventing contact between the wall 66 and theadhesive roll 16.

Any conventional means may be used to secure the base 50 to the wall 66.However, as shown in FIG. 6, a base preferably includes a hole 68immediately beneath the hook 54 for securing the base 50 to the wall 16by a threaded fastener. Other means, such as an adhesive, mayalternatively be used to secure the base 50 to the wall 66.

The lint roller holder 50 is preferably of a one-piece plasticconstruction.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that the present invention provides asimple and yet highly effective means for storing a lint roller assemblybetween uses. Having described my invention, however, many modificationsthereto will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which itpertains without deviation from the spirit of the invention as definedby the scope of the appended claims.

1. A lint roller holder for use with a lint roller assembly having a handle with an aperture and an adhesive roll rotatably mounted to the handle comprising: a base adapted to be mounted to a wall, a hook extending outwardly from said base, said hook dimensioned to extend through the handle aperture, said base having an outwardly protruding portion beneath said hook so that, with said hook extending through the handle aperture, said protruding portion abuts against the lint roller handle and maintains the adhesive roll spaced away from the wall.
 2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said lint roller holder is of a one-piece construction.
 3. The invention as defined in claim 2 wherein said lint roller holder comprises a plastic material.
 4. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said base includes a hole immediately below said hook and wherein said base is secured to the wall by a threaded fastener extending through said hole.
 5. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said hook comprises a recessed portion extending from said base and to a position spaced from a free end of said hook.
 6. The invention as defined in claim 5 wherein said recessed portion has a length substantially the same as the length of the handle aperture.
 7. A lint roller holder comprising: a tubular and cylindrical cup having a bottom and an open upper end dimensioned to receive a lint roller, a plurality of annularly spaced ribs attached to an inside surface of said cup, said ribs preventing contact of an adhesive roll positioned in said cup and supported by said cup bottom from contacting said cup.
 8. The invention as defined in claim 7 and comprising means for attaching said cup to a vertically extending wall.
 9. The invention as defined in claim 7 wherein said cup and said ribs are of a one-piece construction.
 10. The invention as defined in claim 9 wherein said cup is of a plastic construction.
 11. The invention as defined in claim 7 and comprising a mounting plate attached to said cup.
 12. The invention as defined in claim 7 wherein said cup comprises a pair of bands extending between said mounting plate and said bottom.
 13. The invention as defined in claim 12 wherein said bands extend from opposite sides of said mounting plate.
 14. The invention as defined in claim 13 wherein said base is substantially circular in shape and wherein said bands are attached to said bottom at circumferentially spaced positions on said bottom. 